For those of you wondering why we lost this...

[tyrone biggums]

Rondo did something very moronic...now the Celtics need Allen back in game two. My guess is Bradley fills in at PG and Allen starts. Just a hunch

[Carhole]

You know what?  Next game starts 0-0 and atlanta has just as good a chance to win that game like they did this game. 

Yeah but so do the Celts. Pierce is not going 5-of-19 again.

My only concern is that PP didn't look aggressive (he shot a lot of 3's and long jumpers) I do not know if it is related to the sprained toe - I am very worried if it is. Could just have been one terrible game though.

[Celtics4ever]

We can play a lot better, ATL can't this was their best they can play!

[Yoki_IsTheName]

with or without rondo, game 2 is a must win for the celtics...when their backs are against the wall they generally come out and play some of their best basketball.

with or without rondo, I expect the c's to come out with a strong effort right out of the gates...maybe some of the 3's/open shots they missed tonight go in and its a different ballgame.

it has to start with pierce though. he is our best player, and he needs to rebound,dish out assists/hit shots

I believe this is the reason why they'll have a sense of urgency and play better. They know that, although what Rondo did was kind of bone headed, it wasn't his fault. They'll come out swinging Game 2 knowing they won't have a playmaker.

[indeedproceed]

The impartial reason wh we lost is that we came out flat, and missed a lot of shots we usually made, while the hawks came out hot and made some shots they usually miss. Both teams mostly defended well, and the shots missed that usually go in made the difference.

The emotional knee-jerk reaction (as in the one I feel in my soul), is that the celtics didn't get tough until the second half and didn't box out, while the refs completely bailed on a few calls.

[apc]

You know what?  Next game starts 0-0 and atlanta has just as good a chance to win that game like they did this game. 

Yeah but so do the Celts. Pierce is not going 5-of-19 again.

you can the same thing about Joe Johnson(3-15).

[cman88]

You know what?  Next game starts 0-0 and atlanta has just as good a chance to win that game like they did this game. 

Yeah but so do the Celts. Pierce is not going 5-of-19 again.

you can the same thing about Joe Johnson(3-15).

and Josh smith isnt going to be nailing those 18footers like money..

we can play the stats game all day, but fact is the Hawks played better all around than the celtics...we came out flat. didnt defend well, and missed most of our usual shots.

I dont think the c's will come out flat next time..but we'll see

[chambers]

Hawks had a better record than Boston this year.  This is hardly surprising.  That said, Pierce and KG were ice cold early.  Hard to win when Pierce is 5-19.

Say what you want about Rondo, but the guy is our 3rd best player.  When our two best players (KG and Pierce) are struggling, it's tough.

Rondo is our best player. Ray Allen, KG and Paul Pierce have said this to him- they openly talk about how he is the best player, and they're not just saying it puff his ego and make him relax.
Just like the Miami Heat can't win if only Lebron is playing well. They need a team effort.
He carried us today and we almost won off a great comeback.
I don't know what your problem is with Rondo and I don't know what else the guy has to do to get the respect he deserves from you.

[indeedproceed]

Rondo impressed me a lot tonight. He's our most talented player, and pretty awesome. All around our best player.

But Kg is our best defender and mid range shooter. Pierce is our best scorer, and ray is our best all around shooter, all three failed to find any kind of consistency.

[LarBrd33]

Hawks had a better record than Boston this year.  This is hardly surprising.  That said, Pierce and KG were ice cold early.  Hard to win when Pierce is 5-19.

Say what you want about Rondo, but the guy is our 3rd best player.  When our two best players (KG and Pierce) are struggling, it's tough.

Rondo is our best player. Ray Allen, KG and Paul Pierce have said this to him- they openly talk about how he is the best player, and they're not just saying it puff his ego and make him relax.
Just like the Miami Heat can't win if only Lebron is playing well. They need a team effort.
He carried us today and we almost won off a great comeback.
I don't know what your problem is with Rondo and I don't know what else the guy has to do to get the respect he deserves from you.

KG's our most valuable player.  Pierce is our second most valuable player.  Rondo is our third most valuable player.  If we lose either of the big 2 we are toast.  We have a history of "managing" without Rondo.

[thestackshow]

PP looked like a shell of his former self tonight, it was almost like he wasnt in the game. No clue what happened to our team but it was completely out of sync and didnt really get any of it back.

KG had 20 points 12 rebounds. Im amazing actually because he had 2 points at halftime...

Big ups to KG, Rondo, and Steamer, but they cant keep coming out with that low amount of energy at the start of games.

You know the game is going poorly when Rondo is scoring, when Rondo has to score it means our entire team is missing shots.

[indeedproceed]

KG's our most valuable player.  Pierce is our second most valuable player.  Rondo is our third most valuable player.  If we lose either of the big 2 we are toast.  We have a history of "managing" without Rondo.

I'm not sure that's clear in the playoffs. When have we had great success in the post season when Rondo was not playing? If you accept medicore success, it could be said that we can 'manage' without KG. Without rondo in the post season I think we're equally screwed, if not more so now that the big three are somewhat smaller. And, that's without ray being injured.

[ManchesterCelticsFan]

C's Vet Starters seemed to think they were still on their 'rest' vacation early in the game, especially on Defense. I saw the difference was 3-point percentage and Free-Throws Made/Attempted without even looking at the box score. Now looking at the box score, that confirmed my observation. I also see that the C's offset the Rebounding differential with the turnover differential.

[Andrew Celtic Nation]

Joe Johnson was 3-15 and 0-9 from 3, this isn't the hawks at their best, they were horrible in the second half. We were just somehow worse tonight.

[CelticSooner]

Was out and about today so I am just watching the game. Sounds like the C's were rusty. I'm not surprised by the loss. This team hasn't been very good when given extended rest.

I thought this series would go at least 6 for this very reason. C's have to win on Tuesday or it it will probably go seven. It's hard to beat a good team 4 times in a row.

If Rondo is out that is really going to play into the Hawks hands.